Avengers: New Tier
by BlazingCarnage
Summary: In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Humanity made contact with two races of alien outcasts, and together they formed the United Systems Alliance. What hardships will they face as they face the realms and the worlds that lie beyond? AU and multi-crossover.
1. Timeline

_**Hello, people of Earth, laptops, and home computers. In my time of boredom, I have come up with an idea that may either be my best one yet, or biggest risk.**_

_**I am a fan of loads of things. In this case, The Avengers, Mass Effect, and Halo. Three franchises that have left a great impact on us all. So, I came up with this.**_

_**Set mainly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are a few noticeable changes here. To clear that up, may I present a timeline:**_

- **Early History** (various unknown dates):On the planet Rannoch, the Quarians create a race of networked artificial intelligences called the Geth to act as laborers and tools of war. The Geth's growing sentience brews paranoia in the Quarian people, and the Geth eventually begin questioning their masters, prompting the Quarians to exterminate them. The Geth, in self-defense, fight back and drive the Quarians off of Rannoch, forcing them to leave their system in the Migrant Fleet. The Quarians spend the next two-centuries as nomads, relying on whatever resources they can find. Because of the sterility of their fleet, the Quarians' immune systems are critically weakened and they are forced to wear environment suits. Lacking faster than light travel, the Quarians wait out time between travels via suspended animation.

During their travels, the Quarians come into contact with their first alien race: the Kryptonians. Despite their attempts at peaceful contact, the Quarians are met with extreme hostility, as the Kryptonians are vile, genocidal warlords. A brief civil war ensues, devestating much of the Quarian fleet and leaving the Quarians few in number. They barely escape with their lives.

- **1984**: _(Everything that happened in the MCU before this date are the same, such as the Asgardians' war with the Frost Giants and Captain America's exploits in World War II)_ S.H.I.E.L.D. creates the SPARTAN Program, a top-secret operation where S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to create new super-soldiers, more advanced than Captain America. Eventually, however, the project is deemed a failure and shut down.

- **1987**: The Quarians arrive in the Sol System, and their presence is detected by NASA. While the Quarians are initially weary of the Humans, due to their physical similarities to the Kryptonians, the Quarian Admiralty Board, the leadership of the Quarian people, meet with the world leaders to discuss first contact. The world leaders learn that the Quarians were driven from their home planet by the Geth, and no longer have a home planet. After months of deliberation, the world leaders allow the Quarians to settle on Earth, giving them the continent of Australia. Since the Quarians are so few in number compared to humanity, Australia has more than enough room. While interaction between humanity and Quarians is awkward at first, the two races come to peace over the years.

The advanced technology of the Quarians allows humanity to jump forward several decades, allowing them spaceflight and terraforming. In just a few years, they are able to set up colonies on the moon, Mars, and various other satellites in the Sol System. The Quarians eventually integrate into the various Earth governments, such as S.H.I.E.L.D.

- **1989**: Culver Academy, a space station/premier college, is set up in orbit around Venus.

- **Early 1991**: A S.H.I.E.L.D. team run by scientists Catherine Elizabeth Halsey and Daro'Xen create the SPARTAN-II Program, an offshoot of the original SPARTAN operation. Using a conjunction of Quarian technology and leftover super-soldier materials from Dr. Abraham Erskine's work in WWII, Halsey and Xen's operations are successful, but due to lack of real test-subjects, they kidnap various children, most of them orphans, and subject them to heinous training and procedures to deem them viable candidates. Eventually, only five of the volunteers survive, and are designated as SPARTANS Linda-058, John-117, Emile-A239, and Catherine-B320. These new SPARTANS are equipped with a technologically-advanced combat exoskeleton system called MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armors, designed by both Daro'Xen and Howard Stark, the operation's financier.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury gets wind of the operation, and has Dr. Catherine Halsey arrested for kidnapping and partaking in an illegal operation, and is imprisoned in the Fridge. Fury is unable to touch Daro'Xen or Stark, as the the former has deep connections in the Quarian government, while the latter is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s number one weapons contractor. As for the SPARTANS, Fury has them recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. services, as they have nowhere else to go and they are valuable assets.

**- December 16, 1991**: Howard Stark and his wife Maria mysteriously die while vacationing on Mars, leaving their son, Tony, to inherit Stark Industries. Tony Stark then becomes the youngest CEO of a fortune 500 company, as well as a media celebrity. Tony gives the Earth governments knowledge of the Arc Reactor technology created by his father, which speeds up the governments' ship building operations.

- **April 7, 1995**: An archaeological team finds a series of mysterious ruins on Titan, Saturn's moon. The ruins appear to have been destroyed recently, and the archaeologists find evidence that whatever culture had been living there fled from the moon after it had been attacked by some unknown force.

- **July 24, 1995**: Natasha Romanoff is recruited by a shady Russian terrorist cell. She works with for three years, enduring both an education and indoctrination into the world of spycraft. Romanoff excels in this strict training environment and soon becomes regarded as a master spy and one of the world's greatest assassins. Her ruthless effectiveness earns her the codename, "Black Widow".

- **January 31, 1998**: Romanoff is instructed to assassinate Quarian leader Zaal'Korris, and just as she is about to intercept him, she decides against it, as killing Korris would break the peace between humanity and the Quarians. Nick Fury, who had been monitoring her activities, is impressed and gives her a chance to join S.H.I.E.L.D. Romanoff accepts. From Romanoff, S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers the Russian cell and shuts it down.

-** January 1, 2000**: Contact with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Satellite Outpost on Pluto is abruptly cut off. A few hours later, a colony on Triton is attacked by an insectoid race called the Gand.

- **January 3, 2000**: A team of elite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents including the four SPARTANS attempt to take back the moon, and discover the truth behind the Gand's hostility: the Gand had fled their own home system after it was attacked by a theocratic alliance of alien races called the Covenant, who had attempted to forcefully annex the Gand into their collective, and resorted to wiping out the entire species when they resisted. Using advanced stealth technology, the Gand were able to shake the Covenant off their trail. But upon entering the Sol System, the Gand's IFF technologies were momentarily unveiled upon intercepting the S.H.I.E.L.D. signal on Pluto, and destroyed it in order to shield themselves from the Covenant. Upon approaching Neptune, the Gand were met with similar risks after the colony on Triton picked up their approach and attempted to make contact with them.

After realizing that the humans and Quarians mean no ill towards them, the Gand apologize and surrender Triton and offer to help repair the colony. In return, humanity offers the Gand sanctum in the Sol System in case the Covenant attempts to hunt them down. With the Gand's faster-than-light travel, which the Gand called Hyperspace travel, the Humans and Quarians are given access to other star systems to colonize.

- **February 5, 2001**: After a year of living with the Gand, the human leaders realize that a change in the caste system needs to be made. The world governments, after much deliberation, put aside all of their differences and create the United Systems Alliance, made up of them, the Quarians, and the Gand. The construction of the Alliance is somewhat of a challenge to all three races, but they are able to divide on duties: the Gand maintain the responsibility of military leadership, sharing it with the humans, while the Quarians take up the roles of scientists and engineers. The Galactic Security Council is formed, made up of representatives from all three species, working as the Alliance's main governmental body. They are also given authority over S.H.I.E.L.D.

- **September 11, 2001**: A meeting between the human, Quarian, and Gand leaders is interrupted when the ship carrying the Gand ambassadors and hijacked by terrorists. The terrorists, bitter towards the Gand for their actions on Triton, attempt to launch a suicide attack against the World Trade Center, killing the Gand leaders. However, the Gand easily subdue the terrorists and regain control of the hijacked ship, saving thousands of lives in the process.

- **August 20, 2003**: The construction of the United Systems Alliance is completed. Earth, being the homeworld of humanity, the Alliance's founding race, is made the capitol of the Alliance. S.H.I.E.L.D. becomes an extragalactic peacekeeping service, working behind the various governments in order to maintain peace among the Alliance. With their newfound advancements in technology, the Quarians ask the Alliance leaders to retake Rannoch, but are met with some skepticism, as spies report that the Geth have advanced to unprecedented rates since the Quarians' departure.

- **September 13, 2003**: General Thaddeus Ross of the Alliance military is given permission to revive Dr. Halsey's SPARTAN Program. Assisted by Daro'Xen, Ross creates the SPARTAN-III Program, this time with both human and Quarian volunteers.

- **March 4, 2005**: Gand sniper Vaabesh is recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., and is often paired with Black Widow in espionage and field operations. The two become close friends in their career together.

- **January 12, 2006**: While exploring an uncharted star system, Culver Academy graduate Bruce Banner and his girlfriend, Betty Ross (daughter of Thaddeus Ross), crash lands on a nearby ice world. Bruce is critically injured in the crash, but Betty manages to pull him out of the wreckage. The pair are discovered by the planet's natives, a race of large, blue-skinned humanoids. The beings take the pair prisoner and subject Banner to various tortures that alter his DNA. A distress call from the wrecked ship and intercepted by soldiers from the SPARTAN-III Program, who venture to the planet and rescue Banner and Ross from the natives.

Banner is taken to a medical facility where, after hours of treatment, they manage to save his life. However, they are unable to stop the bodily mutations, which transform Banner into some form of hybrid between a human and one of the natives of the ice world. In the aftermath of the incident, the ice world, dubbed BG-1201, is labeled as hazardous, with its natives being labeled as primitive savages unworthy of interacting with.

Meanwhile, Banner is taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D., who, while working to help reverse his mutation, help him unlock more secrets behind it. Banner soon discovers his mutation has given him the ability to create ice; aside from learning how to control his new abilities, Banner's brilliant mind make him a worthy addition of S.H.I.E.L.D.

-** May 6, 2010**: Tony Stark travels to the Quarian colony of Shanxi and gives a demonstration of the Plasma Wave Explosion (PWE) missile system. Afterward, the ship escorting Stark back to Earth is attacked by a group of Gand terrorists called the Zuckuss. Stark is wounded in the attack and captured. Fellow captive , Quarian engineer Veetor'Nara, saves his life by attaching an electromagnet to his chest. The Zuckuss order them to build a PWE missile system, but they instead build a battle suit powered by a miniature Arc Reactor.

- **August 18, 2010**: During their three months of capture, Tony Stark and Veetor finish the armored suit they have been creating. Stark uses it to escape, but Veetor is killed by the Zuckuss while saving him. Stark's suit gets him off of the planet, but doesn't last long before losing power and drifting through space. He is later found by the Alliance Military and taken to Earth, where he is checked out by doctors and subjected to debriefings from the S.H.I.E.L.D.

-** August 20, 2010**: Deeply affected by his experience, Tony Stark pulls Stark Industries out of the weapons business, terminating all military contracts, instead devoting his company's resources to fighting against terrorism and keeping peace between the three Alliance races. S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson attempts to schedule a meeting through Stark's personal assistant Virginia "Pepper" Potts to discuss the circumstances of Stark's escape.

-** September 12, 2010**: Tony Stark continues to develop more refined versions of the armor he used to escape from the Zuckuss. These new suits possess various advanced forms of technology, such as faster-than-light travel. The first FTL test are not gently as Stark nearly dies from whiplash and experiences extreme motion sickness.

- **September 24, 2010**: Members of the Zuckuss discover remains from Tony Stark's original armor floating in orbit around Shanxi and sell it to Obadiah Stane, who starts to construct a larger, more advanced version.

- **September 29, 2010**: Tony Stark meets Tali'Zorah, the daughter of Quarian Admiral Rael'Zorah. A genius engineer, Tali is hired by Stark to be his assistant in working on the suits. Tali's assistance helps improve the various errors in the suits.

- **October 22, 2010**: The Zuckuss attack the colony of Harvest, and Tony Stark tests his Mark III armor by flying to Harvest and forcing the Zuckuss off of the planet.

- **October 24, 2010**: Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts, discovers that Obadiah Stane was responsible for surrendering Tony to the Zuckuss, hoping that Tony would die in captivity, allowing Stane to take control of Stark Industries.

She alerts S.H.I.E.L.D., who travel to Stane's secret facility on the moon where the armor is being constructed. Stane, in order to avoid capture, dons the armor and slaughters the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. Tony Stark arrives in his Mark III armor and duels Stane. During the battle, Stark plants a bug in Stane's armor, allowing Tali'Zorah to take control of it from Stark Industries on Earth. She directs the armor, with Stane still inside, to fly into the surface of Venus, killing him.

Shortly after the battle, Tony ignores a coverup story created by S.H.I.E.L.D. and confesses to the world he is the mysterious assailant, who is dubbed Iron Man by the press. Despite demands from the Alliance military to hand over his technology for the Iron Man suit, Stark refuses.

- **January 10, 2011**: Tony Stark continues to operate across the Alliance systems as Iron Man, bringing about a period of relative peace, thwarting any possible rebellions or terrorists attacks. His main target is the Zuckuss, who are causing various uprisings in the lesser systems, hoping to lead a rebellion against the Alliance leaders. Stark soon discovers that the palladium core of his Arc Reactor is slowly poisoning him. Tali'Zorah reverses the condition by replacing the palladium exponents with a miniature hyperdrive field generator used by the Gand. The transplant not only reverses the condition, but it also gives Stark better control over the FTL drives in his suits.

Tony is later approached by Nick Fury, who discusses the "Avengers Initiative".

-** May 27, 2011**: S.H.I.E.L.D. intern Jane Foster and her mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig, pick up a series of mysterious readings coming from New Mexico on Earth. Accompanied by Quarian S.H.I.E.L.D. intern Lia'Vael, the three are given approval by S.H.I.E.L.D. to go there and study the anomalies. Agent Vaabesh accompanies them for protection.

- **May 31, 2011**: In Asgard, Thor's coronation is suddenly interrupted when Odin senses a break-in in his treasure room. The culprits are discovered to be Frost Giants, and the Destroyer kills them. Thor is enraged at what he sees as an act of war. He, his brother Loki, and friends Sif and the Warriors Three travel to Jotunheim to seek justice for the actions of the Frost Giants. A fight breaks out between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants, but Odin arrives and rescues the Asgardians. Furious at his son for have provoking a war with the Frost Giants, Odin strips Thor of his power and sends him and his hammer, Mjolnir, to Earth. He crashes in New Mexico, where he is found by Jane Foster and her colleagues. Confused and ranting madly, Thor is tased by a firghtened Lia'Vael and taken to a local hospital.

- **June 1, 2011**: Thor attempts to escape from the hospital, but doesn't get far before being stunned by Vaabesh. He is kept quarantined in the local hospital, where doctors do DNA testing and discern that he is not human. Vaabesh sends this information to his S.H.I.E.L.D. superiors, who send in Agent Phil Coulson to interrogate Thor upon his revival.

Shortly after Coulson arrives, Mjolnir crashes in the nearby hillside, and S.H.I.E.L.D. sets up a perimeter to study it. Thor refuses to talk to Coulson, but Jane manages to sweet talk him into revealing his origins. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are confused by Thor's story, as it is similar to old folk tales from Norse mythology. However, with the evidence of Mjolnir, they realize he may be telling the truth, Thor, meanwhile, is shocked at humanity's developments since when the Asgardians last interacted with them, and is even more surprised at the presence of the Quarians and Gand.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, Loki, having discovered himself to be a Frost Giant, angrily confronts Odin. Stressed from Loki's anger and Thor's exile, Odin falls into the Odinsleep, leaving Loki to take the throne. He spies on Thor from Asgard, and is shocked and somewhat repulsed by Humanity's advanced status. Appearing to Thor, Loki lies to him by saying that Odin has died, and the Asgardians, blaming Thor, refuse to let him return to Asgard.

Jane Foster discovers that the event that brought Thor to Earth, and the event that they came to study, was actually an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, or a wormhole. Upon discovering that his hammer is being held in quarantine, Thor demands to see it. While skeptical, the agents agree to let Thor attempt to lift it, but to their disappointment and Thor's shame, it doesn't work. Resigned to his exile, Thor decides to remain on Earth, with S.H.I.E.L.D. interested in recruiting him for strategical value. He also becomes close friends with Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, Lia'Vael, and Vaabesh.

-** June 2, 2011**: Thor explains the Nine Realms to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Unhappy with Loki's rule, Sif and the Warriors Three go to Earth to find Thor. Moments after their arrival, they are ambushed by S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and incapacitated using stun weaponry. They are then detained and questioned. Thor, recognizing them, is given permission to speak with them. Discovering Loki's lies, Thor prepares to return to Asgard to confront Loki. However, Loki has discovered their plans and sends the Destroyer to kill Thor. During the battle, the battle, Thor proves himself worthy of his godly heritage and his powers are restored, allowing him to defeat the Destroyer. He and his fellow Asgardians then return to Asgard to confront Loki, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. behind.

Meanwhile, Loki has tricked the Frost Giant king, Laufey, into attempting to kill Odin, allowing Loki to kill him instead. Thor arrives, and a fight breaks out between him and Loki that leads to the destruction of the Bifrost Bridge. Odin, awakened from his sleep, saves the brothers from falling into the wormhole created by the bridge's destruction, but rejects Loki's pleas for acceptance. Disheartened, Loki allows himself to fall and is warped into deep space. With the Bifrost destroyed, the Asgardians are unable to return to Earth.

-** June 18, 2011**: In response to the events at New Mexico, the Galactic Security Council grants S.H.I.E.L.D. funds to create Operation KOSMOS, which involves utilizing the power of the Tesseract to enhance their weapons in case of hostile extraterrestrial encounter. The operation takes place at the Joint Dark Energy Mission Facility on Mars, and Dr. Erik Selvig is hired personally by Director Nick Fury to study the Tesseract.

-** April 14, 2012**: In the Arctic, a Quarian team discovers the crashed_ Valkyrie_. Five hours later, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are dispatched to the area, and exploring the wreckage, they find the body of Steve Rogers, who is still alive and cryogenically preserved in the ice.

-** April 16, 2012**: Steve Rogers' body is thawed out of the ice, and he is taken to the S.H.I.E.L.D. lunar facility. He wakes up and tries to run, but upon heading outside, he sees the Earth from the moon's surface and is shocked. He is approached by Nick Fury, who explains what has happened in his absence.

-** April 27, 2012**: Rogers is recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D., and becomes well acquainted with the Spartans, who look up to Steve as their predecessor and, metaphorically, the first Spartan.

- **May 1, 2012**: Present Day

* * *

**Okay. That's the basic background info. Took me a while to type all of that. Basically, in this universe, Humanity, alongside the other two races, became an advanced interstellar superpower, and by the time the Asgardians arrives, they had advanced well beyond they did in the original MCU. And yes, this story is technically a multi-crossover.**

**Btw, for those of you who do not know, the Quarians are a race from the _Mass Effect_ franchise, while the Gand are a race from _Star Wars_. One of my favorites, in fact.**

**And the Spartans are in this cuz... well, why the hell not?**

**Well, let me know if you think I should continue. Later!**


	2. Mars

Mars

On the surface of Mars, approximately sixty-five thousand miles from the terraforming colony in Hellas Planitia, turmoil was brewing. A shuttle flew over the red dunes and over the ridge of a cliff, engines humming. On the other side of the formation, a sprawling institution was revealed, surrounded by dozens of satellite dishes and receiving information. An enormous wall protected the facility from any sandstorms.

"_All personnel, the evacuation order has been confirmed,_" an agent on the com system informed as the shuttle soared low over the harried agents, his voice echoing throughout the facility. "_Proceed to your designated shuttles for evacuation of the premises immediately. This is not a drill..._"

The agents and scientists weaved through each other in a state of disarray, running with holopads, briefcases, and equipment in hand to their arranged departure shuttles. Those shuttles that were filled with weapons quickly lifted off the ground and departed from the sight. The shuttle that had arrived before descended towards a nearby landing pad that was clear of agents, with the exception of two figures who awaited the craft. One, a human male donning sunglasses and dressed in a suit, stood a little further forward. Behind him, a young female Quarian stood. Since settling with the humans, the Quarians had healed from their weakened immune systems, albeit slowly and with a few risks, and no longer wore the environment suits they were confined to after their exile from Rannoch.

If you got a good look at what they look like, they almost looked human, if it weren't for their three fingers and toes, and their silver eyes and strange lines coming down from their forehead and neck. This Quarian had pink skin pigmentation and dark red hair. She was clad in a suit similar to that of the Quarian environment suits, sans the helmet.

Agent Coulson and Lia'Vael watched as a dark haired woman in a high-ranking officer's uniform stepped out of the shuttle, followed closely by a dark skinned man in a trenchcoat, wearing an eyepatch over his left eye. Behind him came a third figure, this one making Coulson cock and eyebrow and Lia'Vael to flinch slightly.

A Spartan-II soldier, standing over eight feet in height, mainly due to the bulkiness of his assault armor, which was composed of various different utilities of different Spartan MJOLNIR assault armor, such as Security, Operator, and Tactical utilities. But the most distinct piece of his armor was his helmet, which featured a skull that the Spartan himself had carved into the faceplate.

"Director Fury. Hill," Coulson greeted. Hill nodded in response, while Fury stepped forward to face Coulson. The director motioned a hand towards the Spartan.

"Agent Coulson. This is Warrant Officer Spartan-II Emile-A239."

The Spartan grunted in greeting, while Coulson offered a calm smile. Fury then returned his gaze to Coulson.

"How bad is it?"

Coulson removed his sunglasses and shook his head helplessly, "That's the problem, sir. We don't know."

* * *

"Keelah, of all the times, why now?" A Quarian scientist uttered in frustration. He turned to two more Quarians that were in the room with him. "Conceal the specimen. We don't want her waking up any time soon."

"Yes, sir," They nodded, and started moving a large cryo cylinder out of the room.

* * *

Fury, Coulson, Hill, Emile, and Lia'Vael descended into the depths of the facility via elevator. Coulson motioned towards the young pink-skinned Quarian.

"Sir, you remember Lia'Vael. She was the Quarian intern that was working with Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig during the incident at New Mexico."

Lia nodded. "Director."

Fury nodded. "So what's the situation?"

Lia started to explain. "Erik read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago-"

"The Alliance didn't authorize Selvig to go to test phase," Fury objected, the scientists still in the building working to cart all of the important materials out of the facility as their superiors strode past them.

"He wasn't testing it," Lia responded, not liking the fact that the director interrupted her. "He wasn't even in the room."

"Spontaneous event," Coulson clarified.

"It just turned itself on?" Agent Hill asked incredulously.

"Where are the energy levels now?" Fury asked.

"They're climbing," Lia answered, an edge of nervousness in her voice. "Erik couldn't shut it down, so Agent Coulson ordered evacuation procedures."

"How long to get everyone out?" Fury asked.

"Facility should be clear in the next fifteen minutes," Coulson answered. "All transports will rendezvous with Arcturus Station."

"Good. Coulson and Hill, make sure the last few transports get out safely. Lia'Vael, Spartan? You two come with me," Fury said. Coulson nodded and left four. With Emile and Lia'Vael following closely behind, Hill, who hadn't followed Coulson, moved to Fury's side and stared at him.

"Sir, evacuation may be futile," Hill said, her and and the other two following the director down a stairwell that curved around the outside of a grand chamber.

"We should tell them to go back to sleep?" Fury suggested with a voice that was dripping with sarcasm.

"We don't know the full extent of the Tesseract's potential. If we can't control its energy, it could very well wipe out half the planet."

Fury stopped and turn to frown at Hill with a large measure of authority. "I don't have time to argue, Agent Hill. I need you to make sure all material related to Project KOSMOS are shipped out."

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?"

"Until such time as the universe ends," Fury started, turning from where he had stepped onto a row of stairs leading into the testing chamber to face her, "we will act as though it intends to move on. Now, clear out the tech below. Every piece of Project KOSMOS on a shuttle and off planet."

"Yes, sir," Agent Hill said hesitantly as she left Fury and Lia.

Fury gave Hill an unreadable look, before glancing at Lia and Emile and motioning them to keep following him. While the Spartan did just that, Lia looked at Fury with uncertainty for a minute, her gaze following the retreating form of Agent Hill, before she sighed and followed her superior.

The three entered into a large open chamber. Fury was the first to speak. No surprise. "Talk to me, doctor."

Dr. Selvig stood from where he had been crouched behind an intricate device holding a glowing blue cube at its center, tubes and wiring connecting the heavy metal circle and vault lock to the hydraulic and monitoring devices that cluttered the area.

"Director," he welcomed, rushing over to them, pausing slightly when he saw the towering Spartan with the skull insignia on his helmet. He gave Lia a warm smile. "Lia."

Lia smiled at her good friend and colleague, while Fury put his hands on his hips expectantly. "Explain."

"The Tesseract is misbehaving," he said, glancing at the cube as one of the scientists moved to prod the artifact. The cube jolted at the intruding instrument with blue energy, forcing it back. The human scientist gasped and jumped back at the reaction.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury asked, unimpressed.

"Am I smiling?" Selvig responded dully. "The Tesseract is not only active, she's behaving."

"I assume you pulled the plug?"

"We tried!" Lia said this time. "But the Tesseract is an energy source. If we turn off the power, it will just turn itself back on. If she reaches peak level-"

"We've prepared for this," Fury said, looking at the two. "Harnessing energy from space."

"The Tesseract is not like what we've encountered in the past, sir," Selvig retorted. "It's not like the Quarians or the Gand. It can't be reasoned with. She's throwing off interference. Radiation. Nothing harmful. Low levels of gamma radiation."

"Like the portal in New Mexico," Fury said quietly. He turned back to face the pair. "Where's Vaabesh?"

"Vaabesh is here."

Fury jumped slightly, and turned around to face the Gand S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. A light-brown skinned Gand, Vaabesh was clad in a silver armor with dark brown, robe-like garb underneath.

Xenobiologists believed that the Gand had evolved from a unique insect genus that originated on their home planet, which was, ironically, also named Gand. The entire planet was ammonia-based, therefore the Gand breathed different gases than humans and Quarians. Several physical varieties of the species existed, differing from one another in the structure of the head and hte color of their exoskeleton, but the species was usually divided into two main subspecies: those with lungs and those without. Gand with such organs were adapted to their homeworld's atmosphere, but required specialized breathing gear if they wanted to live in the presence of non-ammonia-based environments, otherwise, breathing oxygen could be poisonous to them. Gand without lungs, however, did not respire and were immune to poisonous gasses, thus they could venture anywhere without worry of suffocation. Both races possessed an exoskeleton and unique healing properties.

The Gand also had technology that outweighed anything the Humans or Quarians ever came close to building. It was they who really kick-started the Alliance's advancement.

A Gand with lungs, Vaabesh wore a breathing mask that obscured his fanged mandibles, and his large bulbous eyes looked at Fury intently. A gifted marksman, Vaabesh had a Gand shatter rifle placed in a holster around his back.

"You sought Vaabesh's presence?" he said. Unlike the Quarians, the the construction of the Gand's vocal apparatus prevented them from speaking any human language, and were thus fluent only in their own dialect, which consisted of drones and clicks. Fortunately, Fury was an experienced man, fluent in both the Gand language and the Quarian language, Kheelish.

"Yes," Fury said, and led Vaabesh away from Selvig and Lia'Vael as they continued trying to work with the Tesseract. "I was hoping maybe you had a little more insight on the situation. Your one of our agency's greatest field operatives. You can see anything with a mile away, better than any Gand I've met."

"The Gand are humbled by your statements, Director," Vaabesh said, bowing respectfully. "It gives Vaabesh great pride to be working alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. for sake of honor and peace. But Tesseract is strange. Alien. Unlike anything the Gand have seen. And Gand see everything."

Vaabesh turned to face the Tesseract as the scientists continued to work with it. His bulbous, compound eyes seemed to glow with uncertainty. He honestly did not like that thing. It smelled of something dark and sinister.

Fury followed his gaze for a moment. "Have you seen anything that might have set this thing off?"

"Not directly," Vaabesh said, returning his gaze to Fury. "The Gand see everything. Nothing escapes the Gand's sight. Selvig and Lia'Vael have done nothing. They are innocent. If the Gand cannot see anything here, the happenings are not present in our midst, but in someone else's."

Fury frowned, and looked at Vaabesh in confusion. Emile, who had been standing behind the director, stepped forward and spoke for the first time. His voice was low and gruff. "Someone else's?"

Vaabesh stared at Fury and the Spartan for a second before explaining, "Tesseract can see all across space. Sight better than the Gand. Opens doors. Many doors, anywhere. With anyone waiting on the other side."

Fury's single eye grew wide. That was something he had not considered. Sure, he knew that they were not alone in the universe, and he had suspected that they weren't the only race that had ever worked with the Tesseract. But if someone else did have access to its power..."

His thoughts were interrupted when the Tesseract suddenly started to hum. It was emitting crackling sparks and waves of visible blue energy, its actions shaking the entire foundation and causing Fury and Vaabesh to stumble before they were able to get back to balanced stances.

The Tesseract gushed waves of blue energy, sparking with gamma radiation snapping around her as the scientists and agents in the room stood captivated in curiosity. With a whir, the energy swirled and focused before the cube, gathering and building to initiate a horizontal vortex of thick threaded power from its position. Suddenly, a beam shot forward, its rays halting at some point several yards away to begin blossoming outwards to form an ethereal, circular frame around a point that was dark and shining with stars present from another world. The energy rang thick in the air as the portal grew, then, without warning, the portal exploded, the energy thrown about in different directions and washing over the various agents and scientists in the room. The loose energy continued to travel, moving up along the wall before coming together at the ceiling.

However, everyone's attention was more focused on the man that now stood where the portal had once been.

The man was kneeling, loose strands of Tesseract energy sizzling across his form before evaporating completely. His clothing consisted of green leather and gold armor plating. Appearing human, his pale face looked up, strands of dark hair falling over his eyes, which were dark, evident of lack of sleep. Four agents, three humans and a Quarian, raised their guns and approached the figure carefully as he stood up, and the group saw that he was holding some sort of gold staff with a small blue gem set at the tip between a series of sharp blades.

A grin was plastered on the man's face before he noticed the four approaching, and his grin abruptly fell as he studied them. Instinctively, Vaabesh reached for his rifle, a feeling of foreboding washing over him as he stared at the mysterious figure.

Fury quickly raised his hand up, stopping the Gand, and chose to speak towards the figure. "Sir!"

The man's gaze turned towards the director.

"Please put down the spear!"

The man didn't seem to listen. He just stared at Fury, before his gaze fell to the non-Human figure standing beside him. Vaabesh glared, gripping his rifle. He could smell the darkness of this creature.

"Sir, put down the spear!" Fury shouted again, but the man still didn't listen.

He took a small step forward, the four agents quickly raising their rifles. He stopped, and looked at them. His face finally changed, turning into that of a sneer. His eyes moved up to glare sinisterly at Fury, and he finally spoke.

"I am Loki. Of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Dr. Selvig started at that. He thought the man's appearance seemed familiar. The texture of his garb was quite similar to that of the Asgardians that had appeared during the New Mexico incident.

Lifting his tactical shotgun, Emile started to aim at the Asgardian, glancing at Fury. "Sir?"

Despite being a man of action, Fury felt inclined to take diplomacy as the first step. "We have no quarrel with your people."

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." The man, Loki, retorted.

Fury's glare grew. "I'm Director Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. And you. You look an awful lot like the beings that visited us last year in New Mexico. The one's who fought that giant automaton. Unlike you, they never had any intended hostilities towards the Alliance."

Loki sneers in obvious disgust. "Alliance. Yes, I know of your petty association. The mortals, the suit-rats, and the bugs. Three casts of creatures unworthy of succession into the stars."

"What do you want?" Fury said, glaring at Loki in obvious distaste.

"A world made free."

"Free from what?"

"Freedom," Loki said. "Life's great lie. You work alongside two races, both of which have fled and hidden, and seek peace. Three young race without the guidance needed to ascend. That is what I seek to implore."

"So you say," Fury said. "I think you mean the other thing."

"Do I?" Loki said, teeth barred as he grinned. "Do I really?"

"Put down the spear."

Loki's grip around the scepter tightens, and the gem seems to glow brightly in response. The lights in the room flicker slightly. "I think I'll keep it. It suits me well."

"Shoot him," Fury ordered, but the moment he did, Loki thrust his arm forward and ushered the scepter to fire a blast of blue energy from the gem. It raced towards Fury, and Emile quickly tackled Fury out of the way and they grunted as they crashed into the floor. Vaabesh, who had been standing near the two, quickly swerved back, just barely avoiding the blast, feeling the whips of alien energy ghosting over him as the blast passed him narrowly. The agents immediately started shooting, and Loki growled and snarled in both pain and surprise and green blaster fire grazed and burned his skin and armor.

Feeling a blaster bolt graze across his face, Loki growled in outrage that a mortal weapon had been able to hurt him. Leaping forward, Loki stabbed the blades of his scepter right in one of the agents' chest, penetrating his armor and knocking him down. He threw knives at two of the other agents across from him, and they gagged as the blades pierced their throats.

Lia'Vael screamed and jumped away as the computer terminal she was standing at was blasted by another blast from Loki's scepter. The last agent standing raised his blaster rifle at Loki, who swiftly jerked his scepter out and sliced across the agent's chest with the blades. Suddenly, a loud shotgun blast filled the air and Loki stumbled back as a concussive shot struck his armor, actually denting it and forcing him to stumble.

Emile walked forward slowly, reloading his shotgun and firing another round at the Asgardian. Each shot forced Loki back and nearly shattered his armor. Thinking quickly, Loki fired a blast just as the Spartan was reloading his gun, and the blast forced the Spartan back and sent him crashing into the wall, falling flat on his back.

Nearby, Vaabesh and two other agents took position behind a crate and raised their blasters and began firing. Loki didn't immediately react to these until a blaster shot from Vaabesh's sniper rifle grazed his shoulder. Spinning around, Loki fired another blast towards the two, blowing up the crate. Vaabesh, who had seen the blast coming, moved away quick enough for the blast to knock him back without any real damage. The other two agents weren't so lucky however.

Once the blaster fire had stopped, Loki panted, and looked around to see if anymore hostiles were left standing. Looking down at himself, Loki snarled in frustration, not expecting to have taken so much physical damage in such short time after his arrival. Smoke was rising from where his scepter's blasts had struck, sparks flying in spurts from the damage done to the machinery. Vaabesh lifted himself up to his feet quickly, and reached for his rifle, spinning quickly just as Loki approached him.

Before he could lift his rifle and shoot, Loki grabbed the Gand's wrist, the Gand hissing in pain at the Asgardian's strength.

"You have a heart," the god noted.

Nearby, Fury got to his feet as Loki raised the scepter so the tip gently touched the center of Vaabesh's chest. The gem embedded in the tip pulsed, and deep blue energy ghosted over the blade, but to Loki's surprise, it died down before it could reach Vaabesh. The Gand looked at Loki in confusion, and Loki just looked stupefied. Before he could do anything else, a large form barreled into Loki, knocking him away from Vaabesh, who hissed slightly as Loki released his wrist.

Emile-A239 had rammed into Loki, forcing the scepter to fly out of his hands. Pinning Loki down, Emile started to bash his fists into the Asgardian's face, and Loki yelled in pain and wheezed as one fist struck him right in the gut, knocking the wind right out of him. An imprint of Loki's form was left in the floor as the Spartan mercilessly bashed him into the ground. Dazed, Loki took out one of his knives and stuck it into the Spartan's shoulder. To his surprise, Emile merely shook off the pain, and Loki started to stab the Spartan repeatedly in desperation. Eventually, he got the Spartan to release him and quickly clambered over to his scepter, but just as he grabbed it, Emile reached out and grabbed Loki's cape, dragging him back over.

Emile took out a large kukri knife, and as he pulled Loki back towards him he raised it up, preparing to stab him, but Loki pointed his scepter up at the last minute. The tip of the blade touched Emile's chest, and the Spartan paused, emitting a slight grunt as the blue energy ghosted through his form. Moments later, he stood up, and helped pull Loki up to his feet.

Loki, who was breathing heavily from the narrow escape, looked at the Spartan with narrowed eyes. "You are strong. You will make a fine addition to the army."

While all of this is happening, Fury moved over to the device where the Tesseract was being held and removed the cube from it. Placing it in a silver briefcase, Fury snapped it shut. He looked over to Vaabesh.

"Vaabesh, get Selvig and Vael out of here now!" he ordered.

Vaabesh did not hesitate and nodded and started to lead the middle aged scientist and his Quarian assistant out of the room. Loki narrowed his eyes and the retreating trio, and glanced at Emile. Nodding at the Asgardian, Emile marched over to them, the ground quaking slightly with each step. Fury looked in shock as the Spartan took his kukri and stabbed it right into Vaabesh's shoulder. The Gand hissed loudly as he gripped his shoulder, and was batted away by the Spartan. Lia screamed as she backed away, while the Spartan grabbed Erik's shoulders. Loki strode forward, holding out the spear and touched it, lightly, against Erik, who was struggling in the Spartan's grips.

Erik stopped, and his eyes briefly glazed over with black as he let out a groan-like gasp. The blackness faded, and Erik's once brown eyes were now a bright blue, strangely similar to the blue energy in the Tesseract. Gritting his teeth, Fury looked over at Vaabesh, who had pulled the knife out of his shoulder and was now bleeding green bodily fluids.

"Vaabesh," he growled. "Get Vael to the shuttles. Now!"

Getting to his feet, Vaabesh grabbed Lia's hand, and the Quarian was still looking at the scene with shocked horror. When the Gand touched her, she jumped slightly, but when she saw who it was she calmed. Loki watched as the two left, but made no effort to stop them. They were not worth it.

He looked back over towards Fury, who had tried to get up with the suitcase in hand. He froze when he heard a shotgun being cocked.

"Going somewhere?"

Fury turned towards the Asgardian, and glared at Emile. "Stand down, Spartan."

"With all do respect, sir," Emile said gruffly. "No."

"It seems your warrior prefers my authority over yours," Loki said, smirking. "Pity."

"You don't have to do this," Fury pressed. "Your a Spartan. Your supposed to protect the Alliance, not serve some maniac."

"Sir," the voice of Dr. Selvig said. The three looked over to see the scientist working a terminal. "Director Fury is stalling. I've read the energy signatures left by the portal, and this place is going to blow in minutes. He means to bury us."

"Ah," Loki said, looking at the director. "Clever."

"Like the pharaohs of old," Fury said smuggly.

"Sir," Emile said to Loki. "Permission to open fire?"

"No," Loki said. "I have something else in mind."

Fury stepped back as Loki moved towards him. "I'm sorry about this."

"Sorry? For what?" Fury growled. "Killing my men? Threatening innocent people?"

"No. For this."

Loki moved the scepter up, and touched the tip to Fury's chest.

* * *

From space, the brilliant blue explosion could be seen on Mars' red surface. Vaabesh gripped his shoulder as he watched the facility implode. Sitting back in his seat, he watched as Lia sat across from him, face in hands as she sobbed.

"Vaabesh? Vaabesh to you copy?"

Vaabesh started, and immediately reached for his holocom. Taking the small device out of his pocket, Vaabesh activated it, and a small holographic projection of Director Fury appeared.

"Director, what happened? Is the Tesseract...?"

"It's gone," Fury said. "Loki took it, and the Spartan. We have two dangerous assets in the hands of a hostile force."

Vaabesh took a deep breath. "What is to be done?"

"We're at war now," Fury said regrettably. "But Project KOSMOS isn't ready yet. So we'll have to go with plan b."

Vaabesh's eyes flashed. "You mean..."

"Yes," Fury nodded. "Call in the specialists, and report to Earth with Agent Hill. The Avengers Initiative is being put into effect."

* * *

**Let me know what you think!**


	3. Compromised

Compromised

Los Astra. One of the first planets to be colonized by the Alliance after the discovery of deep-space travel. Not far from the Sol System, Astra eventually grew to become the city of sin for Alliance space, similar to Las Vegas. With only two hours of daylight, the darkness of the night was almost always illuminated by the enormous cityscape that could be seen from orbit. Gambling, sex, any form of delinquent perversion was available on this planet.

As well as crime.

On the third story of a storage warehouse near the shipyard, a woman with bright red, curly hair cropped level with her chin was bound with her hands behind a sturdy plasteel chair. She wore a tight black dress going down to her hips, with black tights covering her legs and feet. She was surrounded by three Gand, and one, dressed in a bright orange robe, stepped forward to hit her across the face.

She groaned sharply at the impact, but resolutely kept her mouth shut against letting lose any sign of submission or pain. She glared at the Gand with defiance, the insectoid alien glaring at her intently with round, bulbous eyes.

"You are making this meeting more and more unpleasant by the minute," he drawled through various clicks and growls.

Smirking, Natasha Romanoff retorted, much to the surprise of the Gand, with her own unique array of clicks and lisps in a perfect use of the Gand language.

"Not everything is able to go as planned. But believe me," she said, smirking. "this is better than most meetings I've had."

"Charming, to the last," the Gand said. "But I did not come all this way to chat with a squabbling human female. Who sent you? It was the Council, yes? Or Stark. The inventor is always finding ways to hinder the Zuckuss' great work."

"Stark wouldn't trust me as far as he could throw me," Natasha countered. "Besides, it's no secret that the Zuckuss is up to no good. I know about the PWM system."

"Do you now?" the Gand questioned. "It seems secrets no longer matter in this galaxy. It is of no matter. You have given us an even better reason to dispose of you. You already know to much."

"My superiors have learned of your secrets already," Natasha said calmly. "Killing me will accomplish nothing."

"Maybe so. But the Zuckuss will find ways to cover its tracks." All the while, the Gand moved over to a table where various high-tech instruments were laid out. He took one small device, and with a click, it buzzed to life, an electrical prod lighting up at the end. Natasha's eyes widened momentarily when she saw it activate. The Gand turned to her.

"I am going to enjoy this."

One of the other Gand restrained Natasha, holding her head forward as the leader strode forward. She panted in fear as he approached...

when a ring suddenly echoed through the space. The Gand not restraining Natasha reared his head back in confusion and reached into a pocket in his robes, pulling out a holocom. Reading the ID signature from the signal, the Gand turned to his leader.

"S.H.I.E.L.D."

The leader paused, and immediately reached over and grabbed the device in annoyance. He activated the device, sending a brief accusatory glance towards Natasha as if it were her fault. The image of Phil Coulson materialized on the device.

"You listen well, human, we-"

"You're at 1-14 Seryna," Coulson interrupted in the Gand tongue, which, unlike Natasha, had a few mispronunciations involved, but nonetheless made it clear enough for the Gand to understand. "We have a D77-TC hanging exactly ten miles above your location. Give the woman the holocom or I will blow up the block before you can reach the lobby."

The Gand's expression as unsurprisingly unreadable, but his silence was evidence that he was both shocked and nervous at the relevation. Slowly, he held the device towards Natasha. Phil, seeing her, gave a smile.

Natasha frowned. In English, so the Gand would have difficulty understanding her, spoke, "Are you kidding me? I'm working."

"This takes precedence." Coulson said back in English.

"I am in the middle of an interrogation, and this," she motioned her head towards the Gand holding the device, "moron is giving me everything."

The Gand reared his head back in confusion. "What? I don't give-"

"Hush." Natasha said, glaring. She looked back at Coulson. "Look, you can't pull me out of this right now..."

"Natasha," Coulson interrupted, giving her a serious look that made her frown. "Fury has activated the Avengers Initiative."

Natasha would be slack-jawed if it wasn't for the overall blankness of her expression. "Hold on for just one second."

Coulson nodded, and the hologram deactivated. The Gand left to go put the device away, only for Natasha's foot to kick out and knock it out of his hands. It landed safely a few meters away. Quickly, Natasha delivered another kick right to the Gand's knee. He grunts and falls forward as she throws her head backwards, nailing the Gand restraining her right in the cranium.

She got to her feet, half-crouched over because her hands are still tied to the plasteel chair. The first Gand approaches. She delivered a swift kick to his stomach, knocking him onto his back. She ducks as a swift punch from the second Gand and swings around, using her momentum to carry the chair legs behind her into his lower back. He falls down with a loud thud.

She rolls forward towards the other Gand, who was trying to get back to his feet, and bashed the leg of the chair into his foot, and then knocks the back of her head into his nose, breaking his breather mask. The Gand wheezes as it inhales oxygen, and Natasha watches in slight pity as the creature suffocated to death. Looking over to the Gand that she had downed before, she does a swift jump and lands on his chair first. The plasteel cracks and shatters quickly from both the impact and Natasha's weight. The strike also knocked the Gand out cold.

Now free, Natasha swiftly turned towards the leader, who had regained his composure and got to his feet. Seeing Natasha rushing at him, he reached down and took out a blaster pistol, but it was knocked out of his hand before he could even take aim. She leapt at him, swiftly grabbing a nearby chain and jamming her elbow right into his head. Stumbling back, the Gand felt the chain being wrapped perfectly around his ankles, and a hard kick to his stomach knocked him backwards.

Falling over the side of an opening in the floor that Natasha had recently been hanging over while bound to the chair, the Gand leader was left dangling several feet above.

Smirking at her work, Natasha picked up the holocom and reestablished the last contact. Coulson's image rematerialized in seconds.

"You done?" he asked.

"The Zuckuss gets more and more careless by the day," Natasha said as she strolled out of the building. "So, the initiative is back up? I thought the Council ordered it to be shutdown?"

"That's incredibly inaccurate," Coulson said. "They ordered that it be delayed until possible world crisis emerged."

"So we're facing a crisis now," Natasha said. "What are we dealing with? Hostile first contact? System uprisings?"

"I'll send you a codex relaying the situation," Coulson promised. "Vaabesh is already waiting at the Triskelion on Earth. Before you report, we need you to go to Lumos and talk to Banner."

"Banner?" Natasha said, confusedly. "Is this about his intellectual prowess or his... condition?"

"A little bit of both," Coulson said. "He's been working with Stark Industries on enhancing Howard Stark's AI technologies."

"AI?" Natasha said sharply. "Do the Quarians...?"

"No." Coulson said, frowning. "They can't find out. Not yet anyway."

"Alright." Natasha said. "I'll book the first shuttle out."

"Good," Coulson said. "Coulson out."

Natasha deactivated the holocom. As she prepared to exit the building, a deep, smooth voice with some accent behind it spoke up from the shadows.

"Impressive. It seems the stories of your exploits were true."

Natasha turns, facing a figure standing in the shadows. He was holding some kind of device that emenated a blue glow, showing some of his appearance. He seemed to be wearing a gold armor that glowed in the blue illumination.

"Who are you?" she interrogated.

"Loki," He said, offering a smile. "I'm a fan."

"I don't have many fans."

"A pity," the figure said, emerging from the shadows and into the light. Natasha looked him over. Male, human in appearance, raven black hair, and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a green armor with golden plating. The ornate design of the armor looked familiar, and Natasha's eyes narrowed before they widened in realization.

"You're Asgardian."

"So you know of my people," Loki said. "I can honestly say I am surprised."

"You're garb is similar to the ones that appeared in New Mexico," Natasha said. "And your accent. There is no doubt. You're an Asgardian."

"That's what I would like to believe," Loki said darkly.

"What are you doing here? And where did you hear these... 'stories' of my exploits? I hardly exist in the public eye."

"A reliable source, I promise you," Loki said, stepping forward. "And I am glad to see they were true. I am in need of your talents."

"I'm not up for hire." Natasha said, getting into a defensive position as the man drew near. She could sense some sinister intent from this being.

"I wasn't offering."

He moved forward, scepter outstretched, but she quickly stepped aside to avoid it. Moving forward, she prepared to deliver a quick strike to the side, but he quickly shot his free hand out, parrying the assault and gripping her wrist tightly.

She grunts as she struggles to get out of his grip, and watches with wide eyes as he moves the scepter to her chest.

"Welcome to the army, Agent Romanoff."

Natasha felt a cold force washing through her as the scepter touched her chest. She gasped as her eyes went over with black, before fading to reveal bright blue irises. Her struggles ceased, and Loki released her willingly.

With a blank face, she looked at him expectantly.

"Where do I start?"

* * *

"This is out of line, Director. You are dealing with threats you can't control."

Director Fury stared solemnly at the three holographic images cast in shadow in the dark, dimly lit room of the Triskelion. Each hologram depicted three figures, each representing the three species in the Alliance.

On the left, the one who spoke, was Zaal'Korris of the Quarians.

In the center was Pamela Hawley of Humanity.

And on the right was Ooryl Qrygg of the Gand.

"You ever been in a war councilman?" He retorted. "In a firefight? Where were you when the Gand besieged Triton? Lounging in your fleet?"

"It is not fair to bring up mention of the Gand's past misdeeds, Director," Councilor Qrygg chattered. "That is besides the point anyways."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. operates under the Galactic Security Council," Hawley reprimanded. "We should have been informed of the details."

Fury stood before their displays, tall and defiant, his hands clasped behind his back. "The Council's interest in our work has always been about results. Not procedure."

"Speaking of which," Korris added. "What has become of Agent Romanoff? You mentioned before that she had disappeared, and was not heard of for some time."

"We don't know," Fury said passively. "Though we have reason to believe she has been taken by the enemy, just as the Spartan-II was."

"And now we learn that the Spartan himself is working with the enemy," Hawley said, frowning. "A man whose talent appears to be-"

"Killing," Fury interrupted.

"The Spartan project was shut down for a reason," Hawley said dangerously.

"This isn't about the Spartan project. It never was," Fury tried to assure. "Whatever work Dr. Halsey brewed was locked away with her. The four Spartans... sorry, three Spartans that are now in our employ are all that is left of it. Now, with their help, we are scrambling a response team to deal with the hostile. We're on Loki's trail and we're scrambling a response team."

"Are you saying that the Asgardians have declared war on us?" Korris said incredulously. "I had though that their prince, that... Thor, was it? He left without any intended hostilities."

"Not Asgard - Loki," Fury said. "He claimed to have severed all ties with the rest of his people."

"He can't be working alone," Qyrgg argued. "One creature against an army is doomed to fail without assistance."

"Perhaps," Fury contemplated. "But we can't know for sure. Until then, it's up to us to stop him."

"Which is why you should be focusing on Project KOSMOS. It was designed exactly for this-"

"Project KOSMOS isn't ready yet, and we can't replicate Dr. Zola's work without utilizing the power of the Tesseract which, as I have repeatedly stated, is now in the hands of the enemy," Fury said, glaring. "Which is why we need a response team."

"Yes. The Avengers Initiative," Hawley said. "We've seen the list. Spartans, bounty hunters, thieves, assassins. You're dealing with the Alliance's most dangerous individuals, Director."

"No more dangerous than what we're facing."

Korris practically shouted this next part. "I can't believe I'm even hearing this. You're running the Alliance's greatest covert security network, and you're going to leave the fate of three species to these... these FREAKS! You'd be dooming us all."

"Korris," Hawley said in warning. Korris growled but surrendered. Korris was relatively new to the council. He still needed to learn self-restraint if he needed to be in their ranks.

"I am not leaving anything to anyone," Fury bit back. "We need a response team. These people may be unstable. Their pasts are as dark as the cold emptiness of space. But I believ with the right push, they could be exactly what we need."

"You believe?" Korris mocked.

"War isn't won by sentiment, Director," Hawley warned.

"No," Fury said. "It's won by soldiers."

The three councilors were silent for a moment. They seemed to be engaged in some kind of silent conversation. Korris and Qyrgg exchanged a brief glance, before looking at Hawley, who nodded. They all looked back at Fury, and it was Qyrgg who spoke.

"I suggest you make your response rapid. We all know what is at stake."

The holograms faded as the connection was abruptly severed. Now alone, Fury's one eyes suddenly flashed a bright blue, and he gave a deep, ominous glare.

"Yes. We do."

* * *

A/N: So Agent Romanoff has made her debut, and it doesn't look as though she's had a good start. Can she escape from Loki's control? Or will she turn out to be a greater threat than Hawkeye was?

**kaylinthehuman: So Loki got Fury with the sceptre but he speaks with Hill as if he is still in control. Did Fury fight Loki off and escape his clutches or is Loki controlling him and having him play the double agent? I should not be this tense over a fic I've just started reading.**

I think the ending of this chapter answered that for you :)

**Codex**

- Quarians: The Quarians are one of the three species in the United Systems Alliance. A species of humanoid aliens recognizable for their varying skin pigments and white eyes, Quarians possess a fairly standard human-like vocal structure and are capable of learning most human languages, but are more fluent in their ancestral language, Kheelish. Before encountering Humanity, the Quarians were once a nomadic species who, approximately two hundred years before their encounter with the humans in 1987, created the Geth, a species of rudimentary artificial intelligences, to serve as an efficient source of manual labor. However, when the Geth gradually became sentient, the Quarians became terrified of possible consequences and tried to destroy their creations. The Geth won the resulting war and forced their creators into exile. For the next two cneturies, the Quarians wandered the galaxy in a flotilla of salvaged ships, secondhand vessels, and recycled technology. Lacking FTL technoligies, the Quarians waited out long periods of travel in suspended animation. Their confinement to their ships caused the Quarians' immune system to weaken gradually, confining them to life support suits. After decades of living amongst the humans and Gand, the Quarians' immune systems have improved, and Quarians in suits are now a rarity.

- Gand: The Gand are one of the three species in the United Systems Alliance. They are a sentient species of humanoids that are believed to have evolved from an insect genus that inhabited the ammonia-gas planet of Gand. Several physical varieties of the species exist, differing from one another in the structure of the head and the texture and color of the exoskeleton, but the species are usually divided into two main subspecies: those with lungs and those without. Gand with such organs were adapted to their homeworld's atmosphere, but require specialized breathing gear if they want to leave Gand to manage potentially poisonous offworld gas mixtures. Gands without lungs, however, did not respire and were immune to poisonous gases; thus they could venture offworld without worry of suffocation. Both races possessed an exoskeleton and regenerative properties. Sometime before the year 2000, the Gand were attacked by a mysterious alien collective called the Covenant, who attempted to wipe out the species after the Gand resisted their attempts at annexing the Gand forcefully into their collective. Fleeing from the homeworld as it was destroyed, a fleet of Gand ships evaded the Covenant and eventually arrived in the Sol System. After a series of miscommunications, the Gand eventually made peace with the Humans and Quarians and the three eventually created the United Systems Alliance. The Gand possess a form of FTL called Hyperspace travel, which kickstarted the Alliance's colonization of worlds.

- Pamela Hawley: Councilwoman Pamela Hawley is the Human representative of the Galactic Security Council and a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. During the Vietnam War, Hawley met Nick Fury and the two became briefly involved with each other and we both inducted into S.H.I.E.L.D. by Alexander Pierce. While the two have drifted and share different ideals, they still share a bond that drives them to come to each others' aid whenever need be.

(In the 2012 film _The Avengers_, Pamela Hawley was played by Jenny Agutter, who reprised the role in _Captain America: The Winter Soldier _(2014))

- Zaal'Korris: Councilman Zaal'Korris is the Quarian representative of the Galactic Security Council. Before the Quarian/Human annexation in 1987, Zaal'Korris was the admiral of the Quarian Civilian Fleet, at the time going by the name Zaal'Korris vas Qwib-Qwib. During his time as admiral, Korris was frowned upon by his fellow admirals due to his outspoken sympathetic behavior towards the Geth. After the anexxation, Korris became a diplomat and respective senator for his people, and his skill at diplomacy earned him a place on the council. His belief that organics and synthetics can co-exist is what gave Korris the willingness to approve of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret AI development programs on the planet Lumos.

(In the 2010 video game _Mass Effect 2_, Zaal'Korris was voiced by actor Martin Jarvis, who reprised the role in _Mass Effect 3_ (2012))

- Ooryl Qrygg: Councilman Ooryl Qyrgg is the Gand representative of the Galactic Security Council. A lungluss Gand, Qyrqq once served as a pilot in both the Gand and Alliance militaries. A hardened warrior with a no-nonsense attitude, Qyrqq retains a calm demeanor even when in a heated argument or debate.

(Ooryl Qyrqq is a character from the _Star Wars_ expanded universe. Like this interpretation, he was once a pilot)

- Catherine Halsey: Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey was a praised scientist who was formerly under S.H.I.E.L.D. employ. In 1991, Halsey led a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. team to develop the Spartan-II project. Aided by fellow genius Daro'Xen, Halsey successfully developed four Spartan super soldiers, but her operation was unveiled and she was subsequently placed into custody for crimes such as kidnapping, torture, and illegal experiments. After three decades, Halsey is still is custody.

(In the _Halo_ franchise, Halsey is voiced by Jen Taylor)

- Daro'Xen: Daro'Xen is a brilliant Quarian scientist who once served as an admiral in the Quarian fleet before it was annexed by Humanity; before the annexation, Xen went by the name Daro'Xen vas Moreh. Known for her controversial interest in the Geth and talent at engineering, Daro'Xen was approached by Dr. Catherine Halsey in 1991 to help develop the Spartan-II project. During the project, Xen developed the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, which had originally been conceived by Howard Stark. When the Spartan-II project was shut down by S.H.I.E.L.D., Xen was pardoned due to her deep ties with the Quarian governments. Currently, Daro'Xen is deeply involved with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s deep science division.

(In the 2010 video game_ Mass Effect 2_, Daro'Xen was voiced by actress Claudia Black, who reprised the role in _Mass Effect 3_ (2012))

- Project KOSMOS: Project KOSMOS is a high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. project authorized by the Galactic Security Council. Meant to act as a deterrence against hostile alien forces, Project KOSMOS is based on the weapons technologies created by former HYDRA scientist Arnim Zola. After World War II, Zola joined S.H.I.E.L.D. through Operation Paperclip and helped S.H.I.E.L.D. develop weapons that would later be used as a basis for Project KOSMOS. To speed up the project, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been attempting to tap into the Tesseract, which was the source of Zola's accomplishments.

- Triskelion: The Triskelion is the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D., located in Washington, D.C. on Earth. The center of all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operations, the Triskelion is connected to every S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost across Alliance space.

- Los Astra: Los Astra was one of the first planets to be colonized after the formation of the Alliance. To put it plainly, Los Astra is the Las Vegas of Alliance space, and is the greatest place to lose money. It is also a place rich with crime and villainy.

- Geth: The Geth ("Servant of the People" in the Quarian tongue, Kheelish) are a race of networked artificial intelligences that reside on Rannoch, the Quarian homeworld. The Geth were created by the Quarians as laborers and tools of war, but when the Geth became sentient, the Quarians feared a possible uprising and attempted to exterminate them. The Geth won the resulting war, and reduced the Quarians to a race of nomads. Since the utilization of the Gand's Hyperspace technologies, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping watch over the Geth, monitoring their activities and hoping for a way to resolve the issue between them and the Quarians.

- Asgardians: The Asgardians are an alien species who resemble humans almost exactly, but with several differences. The Asgardians are, historically, the first alien species to ever make contact with Humanity. In 965 A.D., the Asgardians supposedly visited Norway through some undetermined circumstances, and were subsequently worshiped as deities by the Vikings and Norse cultures. Contact with the Asgardians would not happen again until 2011, when Thor, the prince of Asgard who was worshiped by the Vikings as a god of thunder, crashed in New Mexico after being exiled by his father. Thor left Earth some time later and the Asgardians have not been seen since.

- Covenant: So far, very little is known about this mysterious force. What little has been shared about the Covenant is that it is an alliance made up of at least three alien species who attempted to forcefully annex the Gand, and later attempted to eradicate the entire species when they resisted. The information given on this mysterious faction has caused the Alliance to become more proactive in case of hostile first contact.

**Any other background info? Just ask and I will do my best to answer.**


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